With Shallow Breath, I Love You
by tjmack
Summary: He waited with bated breath as the gunshot echoed in the stale dry air and waited for the pain to come.
1. Chapter 1

He had stared death in the face before. Looked the grim reaper right in the eye without even blinking. The thought of dying had never been scary to him before, but at this moment he was terrified. Not for himself, no, but for her. He stared at the gun pointed at his chest, before casting a careful glance behind him. In the moment he realized that he had correctly put himself between the gun and _her_.

The choice had not been a hard one. In fact, it had been extremely easy. If ever it came down to a choice between him or her, he would choose her every single time.

Though terror is a word that is often misused. In that moment, with the gun pointed directly at his chest, he knew the true meaning of the word. Terror flowed in his veins, and he knew that he was going to die but in the end it would be worth it. His life didn't pass before his eyes, no instead the only thing he saw was her and it was enough.

He watched with morbid curiosity as the gun shook slightly in unsteady hands. As the man's finger curled slightly around the trigger, he started to squeeze his eyes shut as the finger curled on the trigger squeezed ever so tightly. He waited with bated breath as the gunshot echoed in the stale dry air. The sound was loud and deafening as he waited for the pain to come. However, he felt nothing. But he didn't mistake the pained gasp beside him. It was a sickening sound when coupled with the resonance of metal ripping through flesh. He knew what had happened, and it took everything in him to open his eyes and confirm his worst fear. Lying on the ground beside him was his girlfriend, the love of his life, bleeding steadfast onto the grass beneath her body. She was paling quickly, and he knew that if he didn't act quickly that he'd lose her forever.

With everything else forgotten, he dropped to his knees and pressed his hands down tightly on the oozing wound. His eyes begged for her to stay with him. "Help! Someone please!" He screamed, even though he knew no one would hear his pleas. The color drained from her face suddenly, and he knew that it was up to him to save her.

* * *

_**Two Weeks Earlier**_

* * *

Ty chuckled lightly, his cheeks rosy from excretion. "Yeah, okay. So you beat me to the top of the hill."

Amy giggled lightly as she wrapped her arms around Ty's neck. "Say it again."

Ty stared into her blue eyes, a twinkle of mischief danced around his green eyes. "Well, I don't know, Amy. Now that I think about it, I'm pretty sure you cheated. So by default, you lose."

Amy's eyebrows lifted slightly, "Really now? Pretty sure I can change your mind." She fought against the smile that wanted to dance at the edges of her lips. Pulling herself up on her toes, Amy planted a searing kiss on Ty's lips before pulling back. "Still think I cheated?"

Ty grinned softly, "Oh, definitely. Your actions now, only seem to prove that fact."

Amy nodded, "Okay." She sighed, before pulling herself up on her toes again. Her lips slowly moved toward Ty's again, but at the last minute they diverted to his neck. "How about now?"

"Sticking to my principles, Amy." He answered, as his eyes drifted close.

"And now?" Amy asked, as she placed a third, longer kiss on his neck.

Ty sighed contently, "I'm starting to think I could be persuaded otherwise." He chuckled, as he pulled Amy's lips back to his own. "Okay, I give. Those lips are deadly weapons. I'll never win an argument with you, will I?"

Amy pretended to think on his question, before smiling. "No, you don't stand a chance. Not even a little one."

Ty wrapped his arms around Amy's waist, before nuzzling his face against her neck. "And I won't have it any other way. I'm happy to concede some arguments so long as it makes you happy, Amy. I mean that."

Amy lay her head on Ty's shoulder, as she let him hold her. "I know you do, Ty. We've been through so much together, and for us to get to this place. To a place where we're happy and content. It means the world to me, and it makes me deliriously happy. I've always loved you, Ty, even when I was mad at you."

Ty smiled against her neck. "That's good, because I've never stopped loving you, Amy."

Amy stood there wrapped in Ty's arms for a few moments before she reluctantly pulled back. "What time is it?" She asked, before pulling her cellphone out. "Argh!" Amy groaned, as she placed her cell back in place against her hip.

"What's wrong?"

Amy turned away from Ty and started to walk back the way they had come. "I forgot that I promised Soraya that I'd stop by Maggie's and hang out with her, Caleb, and Ashley. Care to give me a lift?"

Ty's eyes twinkled slightly, as a coy smile crossed his lips. "Oh, most definitely." He said, before he grabbed Amy around the waist and hoisted her up onto his shoulder. "It'll be much quicker this way. At the very least, I know that you won't cheat on the way back." Ty chuckled, as Amy's legs kicked against his tight hold.

* * *

Ty pulled his truck into a parking spot in front of Maggie's. His mouth opened to say something, when he heard someone yell from his left-hand side. Turning, Ty frowned when he saw Caleb point his index finger at a guy just outside of Maggie's.

"What's that about?" He asked, turning back to Amy.

She shrugged her shoulders, her eyebrows formed a deep crease. "I have no idea. I've never seen Caleb so angry before."

"From the look on Ashley's face, neither has she." Ty stared out the window, as the man that Caleb was yelling at, pushed Caleb hard. "Let's go." Ty mumbled, before opening his truck door. Stepping out of the cab, Ty walked toward his two friends, a calm smile on his face. "Something wrong, Caleb?" Ty asked, even though his eyes never left the unknown man.

"No, Finley was just leavin', ain't that right, Finley?" Caleb asked, his eyes dark with anger.

"Yeah. Whatever. You just better watch your back, cowboy. I'd hate to think of what might happen to that pretty boy face if you ever cross me again." Finley said, his voice deep and his face scrunched up with unbridled anger.

"Don't mess with me, Finley-" Caleb started, but Ty put a hand on his chest.

"Just leave it alone, Caleb. Trust me, he isn't worth it."

Caleb sighed, as he pulled off his hat and ran his fingers through his hair. "Ty, nobody acuses me of cheating. I ain't a cheater!"

Ty stepped in front of Caleb, one hand on each of his shoulders as he spoke. "I know you're not a cheater, Caleb. We all know you're not. The people that matter, believe you. It doesn't matter what one washed up loser has to say, alright?"

"What did you say, boy?" Finley asked, his back turned on both Caleb and Ty.

"Just go. You've caused enough trouble." Ty said softly, as the anger started to bubble up inside of him.

"Did you call me a loser?" Finley asked, as he turned back around.

Amy groaned, before stepping inside Maggie's. She knew if she didn't do something quick, that one of them was going to end up hurt. "Soraya, call the cops. There's this guy out there stirring up all kinds of trouble. He practically assaulted Caleb."

"I just called them, Amy. They're on their way."

Amy nodded, before heading back out the door. She knew that if she didn't work on calming down Ty, that he'd end up doing something stupid. As soon as she stepped foot outside the door, she watched as Finley's fist connected with Ty's face. Walking forward, briskly, Amy shoved Finley aside, not caring about the man's overbearing size as she bent down beside Ty. The thin layer of blood that trickled from his lip caused anger to rise inside of Amy. She stood up, and faced Finley. As she opened her mouth, she heard the sirens from the cops.

"I hope you realize that you're going to jail for assaulting my boyfriend." Amy mumbled, her eyes never leaving Finley's.

* * *

Amy sat on the edge of Ty's bed, her fingers playing with the hem of her shirt. Her eyes drifted up to Ty, as he pulled his shirt over top of his head, before pulling on a loose-fitting, ratty tee shirt in it's place. He had been oddly quiet, and withdrawn since they had left Maggie's and try as she might, Amy couldn't get him to talk. It bothered her that he seemed to pull away from her when he seemed to need her the most. It was something that had always seemed to be a problem with them. His inability to open up, to talk to her. She felt like he didn't trust her enough to share his feelings with her.

"Ty, I know something is bothering you. Please, just talk to me."

He sighed, before turning toward her. Kneeling down in front of her, he clasped her hands in his. "I'm just, upset, that's all."

Amy's eyebrows danced in confusion, "At me?"

Ty sucked in a breath like Amy had just sucker-punched him. "No! Never. I just..." Ty trailed off, as he stood back up and ran a hand through his shaggy brown hair. "I'm mad at myself, Amy. I've been working so hard on keeping my cool. On keeping my anger in check, and today... I just never want you to see that side of me again. I've never liked that side of myself, but until I met you, I had absolutely no reason to change it."

Amy stood up and grabbed hold of Ty's hand. "Hey." She whispered, while she waited for Ty to look at her. "Don't do that to yourself, okay? Even if we had never met, you had plenty of reason to change that side of yourself, if you really wanted too. Don't get me wrong, Ty, I am flattered that you're welling change a part of yourself that you don't like, for me. I really am, but you shouldn't feel like you have to change any part of yourself for me. I love you for who you are. The good and the bad, Ty. I love it all. If you want to change that part of yourself, do it for you, not for me."

Ty sighed before smiling, "I guess it was more the fact that I didn't have anyone to help push me." His head hung, before he continued, "I didn't have anyone that I wanted to be better for. Amy, you've changed my life in more ways than I could ever tell you. Through the good and the bad times, you have always been this anchor that's kept me on the right path. You mean everything to me, and I do mean everything."

Amy felt tears well in her eyes as she watched Ty kneel down. A watery smile crossed her lips when he pulled back the top on the black velvet box in his hand.

"That's why I would be truly honored, if I could spend the rest of my life loving you. Amy Fleming, will you marry me?"

Amy nodded through her tears, "Yes!" She whispered, as Ty slipped the ring on her finger. She squealed as Ty wrapped his arms around her and lifted her up. Spinning her in a small circle, Ty placed his lips against her cheek.

"I hope you know this means forever." Ty whispered softly against her ear.

Amy smiled against his shoulder. "I wouldn't have it any other way."


	2. Chapter 2

_**A/N:** _Apologies for the lateness of this chapter. I've been really sick with a cold. I hope you all enjoy this!

* * *

Amy woke the next morning, a smile etched on her lips as her fingers played with the delicate ring. It was a simple sliver band with a small heart shaped diamond with two smaller diamonds on each side. While she loved it dearly, she hoped that Ty didn't spend a lot of money on it. She knew that he couldn't afford it, no matter how much he might deny that fact.

A knock sounded on her bedroom door, and she quickly dove her hands under her pillow to hide the ring. It had been their joint choice to wait until dinner that night to tell the family about their engagement. Mainly because it was something that they didn't want one person figuring out before anyone else. They wanted the whole family to know at one time.

"Yeah." Amy caused, trying to feign drowsiness as the door opened.

"You gonna sleep all day?" Lou asked, her eyebrow raised.

Amy shrugged her shoulders as well as she could. "Maybe."

Lou rolled her eyes, "Well, I really would appreciate it if you could watch Katie for me."

Amy nodded, "I'm getting up now. Ty has the day off, so we'll double team her so that I can get some work done."

"Alright. I just have a few errands to run, and I'm going to pick up some stuff for stew tonight, unless you want something else for dinner?"

Amy smiled "Stew is fine."

Lou chuckled, "Well, I'm leaving in ten minutes, so you better get up."

"Coming." Amy called, while she waited for Lou to duck out of her room. Once the coast was clear, Amy pulled the engagement ring off her finger and hid it away in her nightstand drawer. She hated taking it off, but it was the only way that they were going to keep it from everyone until dinner. She smirked softly, it was finally her time to shock everyone with a big dinnertime confession.

* * *

"Caleb!" Ashley yelled, as she swatted at his arm.

Caleb's body jerked, before he cracked open an eye. "What time is it?"

Ashley shook her head. "Well past time for you to get up. You're late for work at Heartland."

Caleb groaned, "Aw, dammit. Jack is going to be pissed. Especially if Amy or Ty told him what happened at Maggie's yesterday."

Ashley stared at him for a moment, her expression turning somber. "What was that about anyway? I have never seen you act like that before."

Caleb pulled himself up into a sitting position. His legs swung over the side of the bed. He took a long look at Ashley's face, and could tell that she hadn't slept well the night before.

"It's really nothing to worry about, Ash. Me and Finley, we go way back. Never have quite gotten along. Though I heard that since he settled down with this girl that he had calmed down, changed a bit. I guess I heard wrong."

Ashley sighed, "Caleb, you really scared me yesterday."

Caleb ran his hands over his face in an effort to wake himself up. "I'm sorry, babe. I never meant to scare you. I just – Finley brings out a part of me that I would've rather left buried. I haven't seen in him at least a year or two, and I haven't spoken to him since the last time he broke my nose."

Ashley's eyes narrow, "That piece of trash broke your nose?"

Caleb shrugged, "I nearly dislocated his jaw, so it kind of evened out. It's just guy stuff, Ash. We don't get along. Never have and probably never will. He thinks I'm a cheater because I always beat his ass. Reality is, Finley's never quite been the same since his accident. Messed him up really bad. So he just developed this mightier than all attitude of his, and started pissing people off."

Ashley sighed, "Well, I would appreciate it if you stayed away from him. I don't want you getting into any fights with this guy. He seems unstable. Who knows what he's really capable of?"

Caleb chuckled as he stood up, "He's an angry guy, Ash, I won't deny that, but he's not stupid. He won't do nothing worse than a fistfight, trust me."

Caleb pressed his lips against Ashley's cheek as a knock sounded on the door. Groaning, Caleb pushed away, as Ashley turned toward the door. Her brow wrinkled once the door was open, "Who the hell are you?"

Caleb walked slowly over to the door and took in the woman before him. He was fairly certain that he had never seen her before, but he had been known to be wrong.

"Name's Chloe Locklin, I'm Finley's wife."

* * *

Amy scratched Spartan on his nose, causing the horse to snort in approval. "Who's a good boy?" Amy cooed at the black horse. Spartan merely stared at her for a moment, before nudging her shoulder with his nose. Amy chuckled, before grabbing the carrot that she had hidden in her jean pocket. "Is that what you want?" Amy asked, as Spartan nudged at her shoulder again. "Alright, Spartan." Amy shook her head, before carefully feeding the carrot to him.

"Have I ever told you that I find your quiet discussions with horses incredibly sexy?" A husky voice whispered from behind her.

Amy smiled brightly without turning around. She let her hand slide up and down the side of Spartan's face. "Maybe – my memory is a little fuzzy." Amy whispered back, as two arms wrapped their way around her waist, pulling her taut against the firm chest behind her.

"Mmhmm." Ty's voice reverberated against Amy's ear. "You're very sexy, Amy Fleming."

Amy cocked an eyebrow before turning around in Ty's arms. She shrugged softly before speaking, "You're not half bad yourself, Ty Borden."

Ty chuckled lightly, "How is my sexy fiancee doing this lovely and beautiful morning?"

Amy giggled, before slapping at Ty's arm. "Ty! If you keep that up, someone will overhear. We agreed. Everyone finds out at the same time. Not to mention the fact that almost no one here can actually keep a secret to save their life. If one person finds out, then the rest will find out."

Ty nodded, "You're right, sorry." He smiled softly, "I can think of two people in particular who can't keep a secret."

Amy's eyebrow cocked again, as she stared at Ty, "Let me guess, Mallory and Lou?"

Ty chuckled, "Great minds think alike." He mumbled, before leaning forward and pressing his lips to hers. "So, Jack is getting ready to leave. He wanted me to track you down for babysitting duty."

Amy wagged her finger in front of Ty's face while making a clicking noise. "I don't think so, Mr. Borden. I volunteered the both of us for babysitting duty. I don't want to sit in the house all day by myself, and I know that you have the day off."

Ty sighed, "I have an exam coming up, Amy. That's why I asked for a couple of extra days off this week, so I can study."

Amy puckered out her lip slightly, "But I'll be so lonely in that big house all by my lonesome."

Ty groaned. "Am I ever going to win an argument with you?"

Amy shook her head, "No, Ty. Remember, it's because you love me."

"Well, maybe I don't anymore."

Amy chuckled, "Yeah, right." She pressed her lips against his cheek. "Now, let's go in there and watch Katie together."

"Yes, my bride-to-be."

"Ty!" Amy groaned.

* * *

"Hey, come on, Katie." Ty cooed at the young girl. "Aunt Amy will be right back." He whispered, as he cradled the toddler closer to his chest. "I hope."

"I can still hear you." Amy called from Katie's room. "Besides, I told you that you could just come with me if you didn't feel comfortable being alone with Katie."

Ty chuckled, "Your aunt doesn't think I can do this whole – babysitting thing. Let's show her what Uncle Ty can do." Katie giggled and clapped her hands together in answer to Ty's words. "Yeah, totally taking that as a yes..." He paused, carefully sniffing the air. "Oh, okay. Uncle Ty can't handle that. Sheesh!"

"What's going on in there?" Amy called.

"Uh – Amy. We have a little issue over here." Ty called, as he walked quickly toward Katie's room. "Oh, man. What did she eat?" He asked, as Amy started to laugh.

"I'm going to assume that children won't be on the plate for a while?" She asked as her eyebrow cocked.

"Wait, they all smell that bad?"

Amy rolled her eyes. "Says the man that works with animals for a living." Amy cooed at Katie. "Yes, Ty. It's poop. It isn't supposed to smell like roses."

"Gross, I can't watch this." He said, putting his hands up in defense.

"If you ever want children – or you know, to marry a woman that wants children, you better learn." Amy said pointedly.

"Seriously?"

Amy stared at him, "What, did you think that I was going to change every single dirty diaper? I don't think so. If you help make them, you help change them."

Ty chuckled, the grossed out expression leaving his face, as he started to laugh hard. "First..." he trailed off as he tried to regain some of his earlier composure, "you sound just like Lou. I think your sister is rubbing off on you." Ty watched as Amy frowned and her hip cocked slightly. "Second, you honestly think I was being serious? Just because you've never seen me change a dirty diaper doesn't mean I can't do it. I work with animals that crap out things bigger than Katie. Pretty sure I can handle this."

Amy's eyebrow cocked, "Oh really? I have to see this." She said, before stepping aside. "Show me what you got, Uncle Ty."

"Yeah, okay. I can do this." Ty spoke softly, trying to psych himself up. "It doesn't matter that it is the foulest smelling thing on the planet." He said, trying his hardest to not breathe out his nose. Carefully, Ty pulled up the tabs on Katie's diaper and frown. "Oh, that is just wrong." He looked toward Amy, "Seriously, what is Lou feeding this kid?"

Amy shook her head, before opening her mouth to speak. The words froze on her tongue as a knock sounded on the front door. "Okay, Uncle Ty. Just, throw that one away, clean her up, and put a new diaper on. Lou keeps them in the second drawer there on the changing table." Amy said, before turning to leave. "Oh, and don't let her roll off the changing table. You don't want to explain that to Lou."

Ty sighed, "Who knew changing a diaper could be so hard?" He asked Katie. When all she did was stare at him, he groaned. "Alright, let's just get this over with." He pulled the diaper off, causing his nose and eyebrow wrinkled at the sight. "And I thought the smell was bad." He whispered. Ty looked around the changing area before smiling. He was afraid he'd have to go on a hunt for the wipes and powder. Carefully, Ty wiped Katie up before shaking out a decent amount of powder. "Alright, diapers." Ty said, before bending down to retrieve one. "I'm keeping an eye on you, Katie. No rolling." He commanded, causing Katie to giggle again. Rolling his eyes, Ty grabbed a diaper and stood back up. Carefully he laid the diaper out, before picking up Katie's feet and making sure that it was in the right position. After a moment of pondering, Ty pulled the diaper up and snapped it into place. "Ah. Now see that wasn't so hard." He smiled at Katie before picking her up. "There isn't anything that Uncle Ty can't do or handle." Ty said, before cradling Katie to his chest.

"Ty!" Amy called from the other room.

"I might've spoken too soon." Ty whispered, before leaving the room. He walked swiftly toward the kitchen and stopped in his tracks. "What the hell?" He whispered.

"Ty, she needs help." Amy spoke, as she swiped back a wisp of blonde hair from Ashley's face. "So does Caleb."


	3. Chapter 3

Ty stared at Ashley's face for a moment, as red, hot anger flowed through his veins. It was something that he had been working so hard to control, his temper, but seeing Ashley's bruised face caused his hands to ball up into tight fists. His eyes zeroed in on the three most prominent bruises before looking away.

"Who did this?" Ty asked, his voice tight in his attempt to keep his tone calm.

Ashley gently swiped a hand under her eyes, in an attempt to dry the continuous stream of tears. "It just – happened so quickly. Some girl knocked on the door. Talking about that guy that Caleb got into an argument with. She said she was his wife. All of a sudden, he just slammed passed her. Shoved me against the wall. Ty, Caleb is hurt bad. I couldn't do anything. I didn't know what to do. You have to help him."

Ty sighed, as he allowed the anger subside enough to allow himself the ability to think. He would have time to hunt down that bastard, Finley, later. Right now his friend needed him.

"Amy, call an ambulance. I'm going to head over to the trailer, see what I can do to help Caleb until they get there. After you call them, call Lou or Jack. Whoever you can get a hold of to watch Katie. Then take Ashley to the hospital. She needs to be checked out as well."

Amy nodded, before wrapping her arms around Ty's neck. "Please be careful."

"Promise." He whispered back softly, before pressing a kiss to her forehead. "I love you." He added, before grabbing his jacket and headed for the door. It was merely a whisper, but he heard her words all the same _I love you too._

* * *

Ty spurred Harley forward as he visualized all the possibilities of what he might find when he reached the trailer. Quickly, Ty pulled back on the reins, causing Harley to halt his movements, as he slid off the horse's back. He patted the side of Harley's neck as he passed by. He swallowed thickly as he stalked toward the trailer. In the distance he could hear the faint sound of sirens, but knew that they were still pretty far away. Ty stepped up onto the small wooden porch and shoved the door to the trailer open. He cringed at the sight.

"Caleb." Ty whispered, as he knelt down beside his fallen friend. Ty's hand carefully grazed over the still bleeding wounds that littered Caleb's face. His nose was crooked and bruise, most likely broken. One of Caleb's eyes was swollen and had started to turn a deep purple. Ty feared looking anywhere else, with the damage to Caleb's face being so bad. Slowly though, Ty carefully examined Caleb's arms and torso for any signs of injuries. What he found didn't seem promising. A dark purpling on Caleb's abdomen spoke volumes of whatever internal injuries that his friend had sustained. Though Caleb's arms were mostly untouched, his knuckles were also deeply bruised and Ty hoped it was from him fighting back.

The sirens he had heard moments before, grew louder. Ty stood up, and turned toward the door to flag the ambulance down when he heard Caleb groan. He grimaced slightly at the thought of Caleb being conscious. Ty couldn't even begin to imagine the amount of pain that Caleb was in.

"Hey, buddy." Ty whispered as he knelt back down. "I have to go flag down the ambulance. I'll be right back, I promise."

Caleb's untouched eye opened, tears lined it as he attempted to speak. His busted lip spurted blood as it cracked back open. "Ashley." Was all he managed to sputter out.

"Don't you worry about Ashley. She's tough. If it weren't for her, no one would have known you were even out here."

Caleb moved his hand toward Ty. He tried to raise it up, but winced and laid it back down. "Thanks." He muttered softly in exchange.

Ty nodded, as he stood back up. "Hang in there, Caleb." Ty added, before moving toward the door.

* * *

Waiting, Ty thought, was the absolute worst thing in the world. It didn't matter what it was that you were waiting on, it never seemed to arrive. Time always seems to just drag on when you're waiting. Ty didn't much care for waiting, especially since waiting made him think and thinking about waiting brought him back to a place that he didn't care to be in. In fact, Ty was almost certain that if he closed his eyes for a moment that he could picture it. That he would be able to smell the jet fuel and hear Scott's pained cries. Waiting on someone to find you was the worst kind of waiting, and Ty knew exactly how Caleb must have felt. Lying on the floor in a puddle of his own blood, not knowing what had happened to Ashley. If she was alright. Just thinking about it, caused his heart to race just a little bit.

"Hey. Where's your mind at?" Amy asked, pulling Ty from his inner struggle.

His head cocked sideways only a little bit, as he allowed a small smile play at the edge of his lips. "Just thinking about how much I hate waiting." He sighed.

Amy hadn't seen Caleb, she hadn't known what had happened to him and Ty sure as hell wasn't about to give her a visual. Not when he wished he could scrape the inside of his brain to remove the image from his own mind's eye.

"I don't like it either." Her voice was low, barely a whisper.

Ty could feel the depth to her words, and realized that she too, had a reason to hate waiting. While he was stuck in the woods, waiting for someone to find him. She was sitting at Heartland, waiting for news. Waiting for someone to find him, and fearful that they might not find him alive.

"I guess we're both kind of stuck in the same place." He mumbled after a moment. Though he wouldn't be the first to admit that the plane crash still bothered him from time to time, he didn't want Amy thinking that she was the only one still bothered by it.

"Is that where your mind was?" She asked, turning her head toward him.

He shrugged softly. "It doesn't bother me often. Hardly at all anymore, really. It's just sometimes, like this, I can't help it. It's like I'm back there again. I feel like if I close my eyes and really focus, that I can smell the jet fuel. That I can hear Scott screaming out in the night. Then I feel just as useless as I did that day. Waiting, wondering if anyone would ever find us."

Amy reached over and clutched his hand tightly. "You had to know that I would never give up on you. No matter what, I would have found you."

He smiled softly, as he turned toward her. With his free hand, he brushed an errant strand of hair behind her ear. "Oh, believe me, I know that. You are the single most stubborn person I have ever met, and I wouldn't have you any other way. At least then I know that if I get myself into a sticky situation, you'll always come looking for me."

Amy smiled back, "Always." After a moment, her head hung.

Ty sighed. "I can't imagine how hard that day was for you. I know that if the roles were reversed, and you were missing..." Ty let his sentence trail off. He couldn't finish it, he couldn't even think the words. In that moment, Ty knew that if anything ever happened to Amy, he'd lose it. She was the only thing that was holding him together. His whole life, no one had ever been there. No one had ever cared enough to look out for him. Not until Amy. She had always looked out for him, even when they didn't exactly see eye to eye, even when they were broken up. She was always still there, in the background, asking about him. If he lost that, if he lost her – Ty knew that he would lose himself.

"Nothing's going to happen to me. Okay?" Ty nodded softly, as he fought against the tears that lined his eyes. "Yes, that day was horrible. I felt my life falling apart, and there was nothing I could do to stop it. The thought of you out there, and not knowing if you were okay. It tore me apart, but I wasn't lying when I said I still felt you out there. I _knew_ you were alive, because I knew that I would feel it if you weren't. Harley, he gave me hope. That horse is your saving grace, you know? He gave me hope that we would find you. He never let me give up."

Ty smiled, "Yeah, I don't think you would have given up. Even if there was no Harley. You don't quit, Amy. That's one of the things I love most about you. You see the best in everything and everyone, and you won't quit until you make sure that everyone else sees it your way. No one stood a chance, if you thought I was out there."

Amy smiled back, "You make a valid point."

Ty shrugged, "I usually do." He leaned in to kiss her, but stopped. Movement out of the corner of his eyes caused him to pull back.

Ashley stood just outside the double doors of the emergency room. Her wrist was in a brace, and stitches lined the arch of her left eyebrow. The bruises on her face looked darker somehow, and Ty couldn't even begin to imagine how badly they must hurt.

"Did you hear anything about Caleb?" Ty asked finally.

She sighed, tears lining her eyes. "They had to rush him into surgery. They're not sure if he's going to make it."


End file.
